Security guards were not with Raut when he was killed, say cops

Two days after he was gunned down, the motive for the killing remains unclear.

On the day he was murdered, former Shiv Sena corporator Mohan Raut went to his office in Badlapur earlier than usual and was unaccompanied by his private security guards, the police said.

Two days after he was gunned down, the motive for the killing remains unclear. Two unidentified men barged into Raut’s office in Apte Wadi in Badlapur at 11.30 am on Friday and fired four rounds at him. Raut was declared dead after being admitted for treatment at AIMS hospital in Dombivali, police said.

While it is still unclear whether there was a threat to Raut’s life, the police said he had employed two men to guard him. “On Friday, Raut went to office early and his guards weren’t with him. The door to the office was open,” said JCP (Thane)V V Lakshminarayana.

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While Raut’s family has alleged that local leaders of a rival political party are behind the murder, the police are yet to identify the motive. Raut’s family have named Kisan Kathore, an NCP MLA from Murbad and his party colleagues Ramesh Patil, Sameer Sarave, Devendra Malusare, Yogesh Raut and Jayram Raut, in the FIR. “We are trying to understand whether the motive was personal or political,” said Lakshminarayana.

“We found a CCTV camera near the spot, but the wire was disconnected. No witnesses have come forward,” said a crime branch officer.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

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